Yoga Teacher Training Forum

Four Valuable Postnatal Yoga Techniques

After having a baby, many women in the postnatal period turn to yoga to help them strengthen and re-balance their bodies and improve their energy levels and vitality. Yoga also offers a new mom many ways to relax and rejuvenate. A great way to meet other new moms and build a support network is by joining a postnatal yoga class at your local yoga studio. The following are four valuable postnatal yoga techniques:

Kegel Exercises in Child's Pose

Kegel exercises correct incontinence and strengthen the pelvic floor. You can do a series of Kegel exercises in child's pose. Child's pose will also stretch the muscles in your pelvic floor and help to relax any tension in your groin area. Kegel exercises are done by squeezing the pelvic muscles that stop the flow of urine. Begin by squeezing these muscles for a count of five, holding for a count of five and then release for a count of five. Repeat five to ten times and slowly increase the length of each contraction in duration.

Modified Sun Salutations

The Sun Salutation encompasses every large muscle group in the body. It stimulates and warms up the entire body, releasing endorphins and circulating new oxygen and blood throughout your body. If you are just returning back to your yoga practice or are beginning a new yoga practice, a modified sun salutation series called a Lunar Salutation may be more appropriate. The Sun Salutation has a series of poses, so please refer to a good yoga manual or DVDto learn the sequence. Do three to ten repetitions, depending on how you feel on any given day.

Viparita Karani or Legs Up the Wall Pose

A restorative pose such as legs up the wall pose helps to open the chest and deepen your breathing. It is also very relaxing and helps to circulate blood throughout your entire body. In order to get into legs up the wall pose, scoot next to the wall with your bottom touching the wall and then gently lie down as you extend your legs up the wall. Stay in this pose for five to ten minutes and remember to breathe deeply and fully.

Shavasana with a Blanket, Bolster and an Eye Bag

Shavasana is a deeply restorative pose that is fondly referred to as corpse pose. Lie down on your yoga mat with a bolster under your knees and a warm blanket covering your body. If you have a lavender-filled eye bag, place it over your eyes. The eye bag doesn't have to be filled with lavender, but lavender has a very relaxing and soothing aroma and therapeutic effect. Stay in shavasana for ten to twenty minutes, resting deeply.

About Teaching Yoga to New Mothers

The first couple of months for the new mother brings intense emotions as she learns to adjust to her new baby, and her new role as a mom. This huge responsibility, mixed with hormones that are nonetheless new to her body (and can remain for months if she's breast-feeding), can lead to mood swings and even melancholy.

A perfect treatment for this exhaustion and mental tension is a yoga class, but keep in mind, your job as a teacher would be to make certain your student is not rushing into anything too soon.

Physicians and midwives recommend that a new mother wait for at least 6 weeks (8 months, if she's had a C-section) prior to hitting the yoga mat. Establish how long it's been since she gave birth. She may have practiced yoga regularly throughout her pregnancy, but she does not have the same body she had then. If this pregnancy wasn't her first, her recovery time will not always be the same.

The abdominals would be the muscles most impacted by being pregnant, and so these would be the muscles to focus on. It is advised to encourage students to reacquaint themselves with this particular region. By focusing on the abdominals, this will produce balance so their backs are supported. The lower back is likely to be the determining factor if they're working the abs the right way. If it hurts, they've gone beyond their capability.

Shoulders and Neck

The shoulders and neck are regions that can be extremely sore in the postpartum time period. If the new mom has any complications when feeding, she's going to find that feeding the baby is a very stressful time. Whenever a woman is stressed, she has a tendency to pull her shoulders up by her ears, which produces a lot of pain around the neck and shoulders. Merely carrying a new child around will strain the upper back again, simply because the inclination is to hunch more when holding the baby rather than standing up straight. Yoga shoulder poses such as the (Reverse Prayer Pose), the (Cow Face Pose), and the (Eagle Pose) which helps loosen the muscle tissues within this region, can greatly help these areas.

Towards the end of the first eight months of motherhood, the postpartum mother should be prepared to resume her regular yoga routine, but should be reminded to continue to listen to her body. She will be able to turn to yoga to relieve the stresses of everyday life, while raising children.